Building a Sales Promotion Plan

Building a Sales Promotion Plan

• Nature of Market: A promo for a rural audience could be completely different from one designed for the urban market. Media penetration is not high in rural areas; therefore promos work well towards building the brand. Bajaj India launched a rural promo for its scooters, the top two prizes being 100gm of gold, and a Colour TV, both on the rural aspirational list.
   
• Timing: The right time is when the consumer has the desire to spend. The turn of the millennium was the perfect launch pad for many urban campaigns. Festivals, occasions, events may be ideal for a rural promo.
   
• Be on Shelf: Let there be no loopholes in the promo! Inventory Depletion should not be a problem. The minute the consumer sees the promo; the product should be made easily available. Bad timing can be disastrous. A leading publication was giving away ten cassettes with a subscription. Many of the subscriptions were cancelled because it took more than twelve weeks for the Cassettes to reach the consumer.
   
• Duration of the Promotion: The duration should be right! It should not last too long to let laggards in, and also not too short for the early adopters to get a chance to try it out.
   
• Construct: A "construct" is the way a promo is designed. Promotions should be constructed keeping in mind brand objectives and consumer behaviour. What is the effort a consumer or a dealer has to put in to get the benefits? Does he/she have to return crowns to win a free trip, or enter a contest to win something?